Love and Protect
by jojoDO
Summary: A simple fight nearly becomes tragedy... but one person will always be there to prevent that. A protector she didn't ask for... but one that she appreciates with all her heart. SARAH x VANESSA


**This is based on that Virtua Fighter 5 oriental-looking stage with the green wooden platform and the orange railing. If you Ring Out, then the character falls in the water and you never see them again. It's very unsettling...anyways, enjoy.**

The next battle was sure to be an intense one as the two powerful fighting ladies stood firm and stared each other down. Both of these warriors were veterans of the Virtua Fighter tournament, both brimming with experience combat-wise and emotion-wise. They knew how to compose themselves in a tense situation in order to avoid making rookie mistakes. This in turn would make for a more technical and evenly matched bout.

"Hah! HUAH! Time for a combat seminar!" Vanessa exclaimed, throwing a few flashy kicks before getting into stance. She was sporting desert camo attire, complete with a cap on her head to protect from the sun's rays. As usual, her shirt was completely unbuttoned and fluttered in the breeze, exposing her well sculpted abdomen and her impressive figure which was only contained by a white leather bra. Her chocolate skin was even darker than usual, thanks to the tropical tan she had worked on for a few days.

"Hah! TAH! I'm no pushover, sweetie." Sarah Bryant declared cockily, displaying her own impressive array of kicks. Her hair wasn't in it's usual ponytail; it was completely down, in all it's golden wavy beauty. She was sporting a simple white tanktop and black pants with boots. She was also wearing some bright pink lipstick, just to look a little dolled up for the competition. If she was going to kick people's teeth in, she might as well look pretty doing it.

The two girls were standing on a giant square shaped platform which was painted green. They were in the middle of the water, orange railing the only thing protecting them from falling into the depths below. The oriental shrine they were fighting at was nothing short of beautiful, but there was no time to admire the scenery. It was time to fight!

 **"FIGHT 1! READY? GO!"**

The two opponents circled each other, their movements precise and tentative. Sarah knew better than to make the first move and risk eating a reversal from the Vale Tudo specialist. Of the two fighters, Sarah was easily the more experienced; she had fought in pretty much every Virtua Fighter tournament so she definitely knew a thing or two.

"HAH!" Vanessa cried as she unleashed a powerful calf kick. Sarah quickly lifted her leg to avoid it, but Vanessa continued the combo by coming forward with a straight right. Sarah had just enough time to put her arms up and absorb the punch, which nearly slipped past her guard.

Sarah threw a knee to her midsection which was blocked, but it caused Vanessa to back up which was just what Sarah wanted. Now Sarah could use her superior range and keep Vanessa at bay. And she did just that; she threw a wild, looping kick which whizzed past Vanessa as she backed up to a further distance. She was in Sarah's kill zone now.

"HYAH! HAH!" Sarah came forward and threw multiple kicks, thrusting her hips to utilize her full reach advantage. Her powerful roundhouse smashed into Vanessa's arm, which was tucked against her cheek to protect her head. Try as she may, Vanessa couldn't get close to Sarah without risking taking a kick. She only had once chance...

Sarah threw a lunging front kick, but much to her dismay, Vanessa caught it!

"Well...!" Vanessa teased with a smirk, Sarah's leg in her arms. She twisted Sarah's leg and dragged her down to the ground, then quickly transitioned and mounted her.

"Ah! Shit..." Sarah muttered quietly. Before she had time to regret her sloppiness, she started taking several hard fists to the side of the head. She put her hands up to block it, but it still felt like hammers crashing into her skull.

Vanessa continued raining blows on her temple from her back, and all Sarah could do was crawl forward to reach the railing and get back up. Finally she gripped it with both hands, using the railing as leverage to get back to her feet. Once she was upright, she grabbed Vanessa's arms and pried her loose until the Vale Tudo fighter finally fell off of her.

Sarah wildly swung a backfist, sprinting backwards to get back to her advantageous distance. Since Vanessa was recovering from losing her mount, she didn't have enough time to pursue. She was once again in Sarah's deadly range.

Sarah threw a powerful spinning kick to Vanessa's stomach, so fast that Vanessa couldn't block it as she took the full force to her solar plexus. She fell down to one knee, her arms low.

 _This is it. She's done._ Sarah echoed in her mind as she attempted a front kick to Vanessa's face. Desperate to recover, Vanessa fell backwards and rolled to avoid the kick, springing back to her feet despite being in massive pain. She was losing this fight.

Desperate to press the offensive, Vanessa attempted a takedown. Sarah saw it from a mile away and hit her with a double flying knee, knocking her to the ground instantly. She followed up with a soccer kick to Vanessa's stomach.

"Agh...!" she wheezed, the air fleeing from her body like a runaway inmate. She was close to losing consciousness, but she was still pressing on by pure willpower and instinct.

On wobbly legs, Vanessa lunged and threw a quick jab. Sarah got caught on the nose with it, and it must have rattled her a bit because she started flinching. Vanessa faked a straight right and Sarah instinctively went low to dodge it, but Vanessa's knee was waiting for her.

Sarah felt herself falling facefirst as her chin connected with Vanessa's knee like a car colliding with a street light. Before she hit the ground, she reached out her arms to cushion the impact and then sprung back to her feet quickly. Her vision was blurry for the slightest of seconds... and that was all the time it took for Vanessa to capitalize.

Sarah'e eyesight returned just in time to see a spinning elbow collide with her forehead. She wobbled backwards and Vanessa continued the combo with a right hook to her cheek which knocked her back even further. She took a low kick to the leg which buckled her knee, then a straight right to her chin which sent her reeling backwards against the railing.

Vanessa sensed victory, and her onslaught didn't end there. She sprinted forward with full speed, like a runningback headed for those golden uprights. She closed distance on Sarah and leaped forward with a flying Superman Punch. The fist collided with Sarah's face, sending her backwards over the railing and into the water with a SPLASH!

 **"RING OUT!"**

It was over... Vanessa had won. She didn't revel in her victory, however; she just stood there, staring at the still waters. Nothing had emerged, not an arm or a hand or even a golden strand of hair.

"Is she...? Did I knock her unconscious...? OH NO! SARAH!"

Victory was no longer even in her mind; only one thing was running through Vanessa's head as her instincts kicked in like a shock to the heart. Without an ounce of hesitation, Vanessa took off her hat and shirt, leaped over the railing and dived into the water.

Her entire world became distorted as she felt around in the deep abyss, desperate for just a mere touch of her opponent's unconscious body. She wasn't going to let Sarah die, dammit! She refused to have any innocent blood on her hands! Especially hers...

Finally, her prayers were answered as she felt Sarah's arm. Like a claw machine she gripped Sarah's arm tight, then reached down and grabbed her tanktop. She pulled upwards with all her might, kicking towards the surface with two lives on the line. She could see the golden sun shining down on her, welcoming her back to the world above.

Their heads emerged and the breeze immediately kissed their wet skin. A long breath rang out as the air raced back into Vanessa's lungs in droves. She placed a hand on the railing and kept Sarah tucked under her arm.

"1...2...3!"

Vanessa grunted and winced as she tried to vault herself over the railing with one arm and carrying extra weight. Pure adrenaline flooded through her bloodstream, giving her superhuman strength in a moment of crisis when it was needed most. Sarah was the first to go over, landing flat on the wooden floor. Vanessa finally had two free hands and was able to climb over.

"AH! Hah...hah...hah...huff...huff...huff..."

Vanessa was relieved that she had brought her back, but she wasn't out of the pickle yet. Her opponent was still unresponsive; there was a good chance she had taken some water while she was down there. Luckily, CPR was part of Vanessa's basic training.

"Okay..." Vanessa muttered as she crawled on top of Sarah's waist and mounted her. She pressed two hands on her sternum and started pumping.

"One...two...three...four..."

She knelt down and pressed her lips against Sarah's, sucking upwards with all of her breath.

"One...two...three...four..." she resumed pumping. She once against put her lips down there and sucked upwards.

"GHL! GARHGLE!"

Water spewed from Sarah's mouth all over Vanessa's face as the blonde coughed violently. Vanessa quickly got off of her and flipped Sarah over, allowing her to cough up the excess water still in her lungs.

"Sarah! Are you okay? Speak to me!" Vanessa urged.

Sarah coughed a few more times before looking up at her. "What...what happened...?"

"Um...well..."

"Did I...lose...?"

"Yeah... you lost. Sorry, Sarah..."

"Ughhhhhh..."

Sarah fell over and laid there, feeling like a miserable loser. She was SO embarrassed, both from losing to Vanessa and then having to be rescued from drowning by her. Right now she just wanted to lay here, cold, wet, miserable... she deserved these negative feelings.

Then suddenly, as if a warm light illuminated her cold world... a pair of soothing arms scooped her up and gently caressed her hair.

"Aw, Sarah... it's okay." Vanessa said softly. "Why don't I take you back to my place? Get you out of those wet clothes."

Sarah felt a rush of warmth in her now blushing cheeks as she looked up at her rescuer, who was holding her tenderly.

"Tch... don't treat me like a damsel." Sarah mumbled angrily.

"Hey, don't be like that. I won, so you have to do what I say. Cmon, let's get out of here."

"Fine..." Sarah replied with a sigh.

Even as she helped her to her feet, Vanessa could still see Sarah sulking. She was REALLY sad about losing, and it made Vanessa sad in turn.

"Hey..." she called out, cupping Sarah's chin and tilting it towards her. The defeated blonde looked in her eyes.

"I'll make it up to you, okay? I'll make it all better."

Sarah said nothing but simply looked away, trying to hide the redness on her cheeks.

 **LATER THAT AFTERNOON...**

The two battered fighters were in a much more cozy environment now: the hotel where Vanessa had been staying to prepare for the fight. They were out of their sopping wet clothes, the only thing still wet now their hair which was being tended to with the towels. It took longer for Sarah's, as hers was much longer. Regardless, the two girls were happy to just lick their wounds and get nice and warm. They didn't even want to look at a GLASS of water after that terrible experience.

"Feeling better now?" Vanessa called out, standing in front of the bathroom mirror as she dried her platinum hair. She was wearing a black leather bra and silk panties now, as opposed to her white lingerie from earlier.

"I'd feel better if I had won back there..." the blonde replied, tending to her hair with a towel as well. She was sitting on Vanessa's bed in a white t shirt and aqua blue cotton panties, which Vanessa had generously provided for her.

"Aw, you're not salty that you lost to a younger woman are you?" Vanessa teased, finally stepping out of the bathroom and sitting on the bed next to her.

"I just...thought I had you. I dunno what happened..." Sarah muttered, looking down at the floor.

"Heh heh... hey, hold still."

Vanessa suddenly smothered Sarah's head with the towel and started scrubbing her wet hair furiously. Caught off guard, Sarah bounced around and flailed her limbs.

"H-hey! Guh! Vanessa! STOP!"

After deciding Sarah had enough, the smiling Vanessa finally removed the towel and caught a glimpse at her hair, which was now scraggly and hanging in her face.

"HA HA HA HA!"

"Shut up." Sarah spat, turning around and curling up into a ball against Vanessa's pillow.

"Hey..." Vanessa whispered, poking her side. "You gonna act like this all evening?"

"...I just wanna go to sleep."

"Do you mind scooting over a little?"

It took a few seconds for her to respond, but Sarah finally moved over a bit and pushed the covers down from under her. Vanessa crawled in next to her and pulled the covers up, blanketing them both in the most appreciative warmth of their lives.

"Ahhhhh...that's so much better." Vanessa sighed happily.

Sarah rolled over and the two of them huddled close, the warmth radiating from each of them as they locked eyes.

"Hey..." Sarah whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I've never told you this before, but... thank you for always looking out for me. This is the second time you've saved me..."

Vanessa reached over and cupped Sarah's cheek as she brought her face close. "I'm always happy to look out for you... and be close to you."

She leaned in and gave Sarah's lips the slightest of touches with her own before pressing them against her cheek instead. As she pulled back, Sarah rolled over on top of her and laid her head down below her bosom. Her fingers danced across Vanessa's bellybutton as she gave long, slow, tender kisses on her stomach. Vanessa moaned softly as she rubbed Sarah's back, the bare skin right near her midriff.

Sarah crawled completely on top of Vanessa and buried her lips against hers, holding it there for a full five seconds before pulling away with a wet smooch. She kissed her again, the same length as last time. Finally, she kissed her one last time before laying her head down on Vanessa's chest and getting comfortable.

Vanessa slid her hands down Sarah's smooth thighs before going back upwards and gently caressing the bare skin where her tanktop was riding up. They slowly and nonchalantly slid upwards inside the bottom of her shirt, dancing and tracing circles on her waist. Her tender touch soothed Sarah's sorrow and eased her mind, making her forget about all the negatives of the afternoon.

"I'll always be there for you, Sarah. Even if we're beating each other up, I'll still look after you." Vanessa whispered softly.

The two fell asleep, encased in a bubble of love and warmth.

 **THE END**


End file.
